France has evacuated from Sudan nearly 400 French nationals and of multiple nationalities, ensuring since Sunday several air rotations between Khartoum and Djibouti, announced Monday morning the French Minister of Foreign Affairs.
“These rotations made it possible to evacuate 388 people, including French nationals who wished to do so, as well as a significant number of citizens of other countries, particularly European ones (Germany, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Ireland, Netherlands, Romania, United Kingdom, Sweden, Switzerland), but also African (South Africa, Burundi, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Morocco, Namibia, Niger, Uganda, Rwanda Sudan), American (United States, Canada ) and Asia (India, Japan, Philippines),” he said in a statement.
“All State services remain fully mobilized to ensure new evacuations as soon as possible”, underlines the ministry, reiterating its “call to all parties to stop the fighting and return to political dialogue”. However, “The French Embassy in Sudan is closed until further notice. It is no longer a collection point for people wishing to leave Khartoum,” the ministry spokeswoman said in a statement, adding that the embassy would continue “its activities from Paris under the responsibility of the ambassador.”
The head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell, for his part, announced on Monday that more than 1,000 EU nationals had been evacuated. “It’s a complex operation but it was successful,” Josep Borrell said on the sidelines of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg. “I can’t give you exact numbers, but for sure more than 1,000 people” were evacuated, he added.
Josep Borrell said 21 diplomats from the EU mission in Khartoum had been evacuated. “I especially want to thank France,” he said. And I want to thank the combined efforts of many countries that evacuated their nationals but also those of other countries. »
The UN announced on Monday that its envoy to Sudan, Volker Perthes, remained in the country, where nine days of fighting has already claimed more than 420 lives, while hundreds of its staff had been evacuated to Port Sudan, on the coast spared from violence.
In addition, “43 international staff and 29 members of international NGOs were evacuated from El-Geneina and Zalingei”, two capitals of Darfur, the region most affected by the fighting with Khartoum, “to Chad”. neighbor, details the statement of the UN mission in Sudan.
The first major civilian evacuation operation since the fighting began was announced on Saturday by Saudi Arabia, which repatriated 91 of its citizens and 66 nationals of other countries.
For several days, several countries (United States, South Korea, Japan, etc.) have deployed forces in neighboring countries and the European Union has said it wants to take similar measures, with a view to evacuating their diplomats and nationals.
China announced on Monday that “a first group of people have been evacuated” to one or more neighboring countries of Sudan, Mao Ning, a spokeswoman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on Monday, without specifying their number or their location. destination. China is Sudan’s largest trading partner and more than 130 Chinese companies invest and operate there, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry website.
Violence erupted there on April 15 between the army of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhane, de facto ruler of Sudan since the 2021 putsch, and his deputy turned rival, General Mohamed Hamdane Daglo, who commands the Rapid Support Forces. .
The still very provisional toll stands at more than 420 dead and 3,700 injured, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
